Shuhei Yoshida, a name synonymous with PlayStation, announced today that he will be leaving Sony Interactive Entertainment on January 15, 2025. Yoshida, currently Head of Indies Initiative at PlayStation, has played a pivotal role in the company’s success over the past three decades.
Yoshida’s journey began in 1993 when he joined Ken Kutaragi‘s team as they were developing the first PlayStation. “Ken’s team had only engineers,” Yoshida recalled in a recent interview. “I was the first non-technical person to join the team.”
His initial task was to convince a skeptical gaming industry to embrace the PlayStation’s then-revolutionary 3D graphics and CD-ROM technology. “We were not taken very seriously from the industry, to be honest,” Yoshida admitted.
But PlayStation defied expectations, and Yoshida rose through the ranks, eventually becoming President of PlayStation Studios. He oversaw the development of numerous hit titles, with one particular memory standing out: “When Journey got the Game of the Year Award…that was really, really special,” Yoshida shared. “This small game [won] Game of the Year against all these AAA titles.”
In recent years, Yoshida has focused his efforts on supporting independent developers. “I love indie games,” he declared. “Small games can try ideas that have never been done before…It was like treasure hunting for me.”
Yoshida’s departure marks the end of an era for PlayStation. “When I hit 30 years, I was thinking, hmm, it may be about time for me to move on,” he reflected. “The company’s been doing great. I love PS5, I love the games that are coming out on this platform.”
Though he is stepping down, Yoshida expressed excitement for the future of PlayStation. “We have new generations of management who I respect and admire,” he said.
Source: PlayStation Blog
